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The money comes from merging Horizon Utilities into Alectra

The city will use, in part, dividends from merging Horizon Utilities with Alectra to fund its $50 million poverty reduction plan. Mayor Fred Eisenberger signed the merger agreement last year. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

The city will sink $1 million a year for the next 10 years into getting Indigenous Hamiltonians out of poverty — a move one worker says is a turning point.

The money will go toward fixing as many as 40 Indigenous social housing units a year, helping people stay in housing, family and life skills programs and more domestic violence help for women among other efforts.

The money is part of a $50 million, 10-year poverty plan Mayor Fred Eisenberger pitched last year. Much of it comes from increased dividends from merging Horizon Utilities with Alectra. Hamilton has a dearth of affordable housing, so councillors voted this year to sink most of the money into housing.

The plan includes spending $20 million in new affordable rental housing as a whole — as many as 35 units this year. Another $20 million will go to fixing units left vacant because there's no money to fix them. It will pay to fix as many as 1,600 units.

But the plan pays particular attention to Indigenous homelessness. Numbers show Indigeous people are about three per cent of Hamilton's population and about one third of its homeless. So, $10 million of the $50 million fund will go to Indigenous efforts.

Terry Whitehead, Ward 8 councillor, said other populations, like LGBTQ, are susceptible to homelessness too. But Aidan Johnson, Ward 1 councillor, said the Indigenous population includes LGBTQ people too and it's in line with the federal Truth and Reconciliation process.

About the Author

Samantha Craggs is a CBC News reporter based in Hamilton, Ont. She has a particular interest in politics and social justice stories, and tweets live from Hamilton city hall. Follow her on Twitter at @SamCraggsCBC, or email her at samantha.craggs@cbc.ca